


Reset The World

by NinthFeather



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternative Universe- Spies, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Gen, Kageprose, all the alternate universes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-15
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-13 06:56:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2141400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinthFeather/pseuds/NinthFeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We've already seen the timeline reset; but what about the setting?  Twelve episodes, twelve narrators, twelve alternate universes.   </p><p>Updates on Fridays.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Post-Apocalyptic AU: Outside's covered in garbage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There’s nothing for it,” Ene said, crossing her arms as she hovered in the middle of Shintarou’s cracked computer screen. “That keyboard is ruined. You’ll have to go outside.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each AU snippet has a different narrator, including all members of the Mekakushi-dan plus Kenjirou and Hiyori. These AUs are all up for adoption if you’re interested—just please credit me for the original idea and link back to this fic. Oh, and if you’d like, message me to tell me you’re using it—I’d like to read some of these fics myself. If only I had time to write them all in their entirety…alas, I have other things to do.
> 
> All chapter titles in this version are taken from the lyrics of the songs that correspond to the episodes. The version posted on FF.net won't include those titles.

**Post-Apocalyptic AU**

_Outside's covered in garbage_

 

“There’s nothing for it,” Ene said, crossing her arms as she hovered in the middle of Shintarou’s cracked computer screen. “That keyboard is ruined.  You’ll have to go outside.”

“But—“

“Other people do it all the time!” Ene said firmly.

“But…the roaming gangs!” Shintarou protested.  “The pollution!  The people!”

“I can’t believe it, but you really are most scared of that last one, aren’t you?” Ene asked.

Shintarou frowned.

“Look, there’s a mask on the desk, and you still have that baseball bat in the corner,” Ene said.  “You’ll be fine.”

Shintarou picked up the mask, and strapped it over his face.  He put on his old red blazer, and then put a rubber jumpsuit on over it.  Last on were the thick, brown boots.

He connected his iPod to the computer, and Ene immediately appeared on its screen.  She looked very pleased with the situation—but she could, since she didn’t have lungs to be poisoned or a body that could be killed and searched for cash.

He put on the headphones, picked up the baseball bat, and walked downstairs.

When he opened the door, he reflexively closed his eyes.  Even though the thick brown cloud couldn’t get through the mask, he couldn’t stop himself from bracing for it.

Through the thick clouds, he could see dark shapes stealing their way through the desolation, trying to avoid the notice of everyone else.  It was just depressing.

Things had been like this since—since the day he still couldn’t bear to think about, the day when he found out about Ayano’s death moments before his classroom was rocked by the shockwaves from the first of the explosions.

“I’m really glad you aren’t here to see this, Ayano _-chan_ ,” he said softly, his words distorted and muffled by the mask.

“What was that?” Ene asked, as the two passed through the threshold.

Shintarou didn’t answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The exact nature of the apocalypse is left purposely ambiguous. The computer Shintarou currently has was scavenged by Momo at some point; her idol pay became useless after the world ended.


	2. Supernatural AU | Even this has become completely normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not a zombie, I’m a draugr!” the girl snapped. “And those people aren’t undead at all.”

**Supernatural AU**

_even this has become completely normal_

 

Hibiya flinched away from the girl.  For all that she was tall and pretty, her hair dyed golden-blonde, there was something inherently not right about her.

And then, she grabbed his hand, and her skin was ice-cold.

He pulled away from her.  “What the heck _are_ you?” he demanded.

She frowned at him.  “I’m a singer,” she said.

“You don’t have a body temperature!” he hissed back.

“Okay, so I might be an undead singer,” she admitted.  “But I don’t eat brains or anything, so you don’t need to worry!”

“I don’t need to—” Hibiya broke off, noticing a crowd gathering around them.  “Are those your zombie thralls or something?”

“I’m not a zombie, I’m a draugr!” the girl snapped.  “And those people aren’t undead at all.”

Hibiya backed up slightly, nearly bumping into the creepy singer chick as the crowd pressed forward.

“They’re scarier,” the girl continued, grabbing his hand again.  “They’re my fans.   And we need to run.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Draugr” are reanimated corpses from Norse myth. Technically, this AU is exactly the same as canon except that the “dead kids” are actually physically dead (no pulse/body heat/need for food, ect.) and think of themselves as dead. Still, in my head, it’s kind of like a mix of canon and Being Human.


	3. Trapped in a Videogame AU | This world where hope has disappeared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the Kagerou Project MMORPG, Kido had never partied with anyone but her siblings.

**Trapped In a Videogame AU**

_This world where hope has disappeared_

 

“Are you sure this will work, Aidoru _-san_?”  Phantom asked, brushing aside her cloak to finger the sword belted at her side.  “These guys aren’t just Level One monsters—they’re bosses!  We barely have enough XP to even consider taking them on—”

“With this plan, we don’t need the XP,” Aidoru replied, tossing her head so that her golden hair flew out around her shoulders.  “It’ll work.  We just need a distraction and then—BAM!” She hit the floor of the dungeon for emphasis, “we’ll hit them with a combo attack—Kuusouko’s freezing spell amplified by my _Attention Drawing_ skill.”

Phantom nodded, convinced. This was some party she’d managed to assemble.  Before the _Kagerou Project_ MMORPG, she’d never partied with anyone but her siblings.  They’d carefully selected their classes to create a complimentary party—she was a swordswoman, Shuuya was a thief, Kousuke was an elven mage, and Ayano was a cleric. The Mekakushidan Guild had been infamous in other games—but even they were a little daunted by this horrific game they couldn’t even log out of.   

And after Ayano blasted her own HP in hopes of getting out and warning the rest of the world what the programmer of this sick game was up to, well, she’d found herself short a cleric. And while she was looking for a new cleric, why not pick up a half-medusa mage and a bard in the meantime?

Even if the medusa mage’s clumsiness was only rivaled by the bard’s utter noob-ness.  At least the mage, Kuusouko, had an entire arsenal of rare skills and an intimate knowledge of the game manual to boot, and the bard, Aidoru, made up for her inexperience with a surprisingly strong grasp of tactics.

And, if they pulled off this boss battle, she’d be able to add Aidoru’s older brother, a Level 54 mage, and his ally, the legendary Level 70 sharpshooter Ene, to their number. Not a bad outcome, for a single battle.

They just had to make sure their HP didn’t hit zero before Kuusouko could put together a healing spell—especially since they didn’t know how to get players out of the low-HP limbo the players had taken to calling the Kagerou Daze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU is heavily based on Sword Art Online and Log Horizon, especially the former. Kido is “Phantom” because of all the ghost jokes in the anime, Mary is “Kuusouko” [空想子] or “Imagination Child,” and Momo is “Aidoru” [愛ドル], a pun using the word for love (Ai or 愛) and the phonetic spelling of idol (idoru orイドル). Ayano’s screenname is RedHero and Haruka’s is Konoha. The reasons for the various character classes should be obvious. I gave Ene a higher level than Shintarou because she was part of the beta in this AU and is still a better all-round gamer, even if Shintarou is a genius.


	4. Urban Fantasy AU | I don't really like the summertime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahina Hiyori found it a bit weird that whatever freaky magic was behind all of this would place her—a twenty-year-old private eye specializing in the supernatural—on the top of a jungle-gym in the middle of a deserted park.

**Urban Fantasy AU**

_I don't really like the summertime_

 

Asahina Hiyori scowled as she surveyed the red-tinted dream world that surrounded her.  This was just her luck, wasn’t it?  She never could start investigating a case without being dragged into the thick of it.

At least the freaky dream world had let her keep her outfit—a pink minidress, matching pumps, and a black leather jacket.  Still, she found it a bit weird that it would place her—a twenty-year-old private eye specializing in the supernatural—on the top of a jungle-gym in the middle of a deserted park.

Above her, two crows perched on a wire, letting out low, croaking calls. Hiyori glared at them and wished for a handgun—even if carrying one was illegal in Japan.

The abnormalities in this town had seemed—well, run-of-the-mill wasn’t really the right word, but they weren’t as actively malicious as the ones in other cases she’d encountered.  But apparently they’d decided to get malicious just when she showed up.  Typical.

Still, this was her job.  The client, a man named Kano, had paid her to figure out what had turned his foster-dad psycho and killed his foster sister, and he was going to get his money’s worth if she had anything to do with it.

Besides, coming out here was a nice break from the busier parts of the city—and it had gotten Hibiya all excited.

Hibiya was her assistant-cum-stalkerish-not-so-secret-admirer.  She didn’t really like the guy, but she kind of felt bad for him.  Sometimes.  They’d gone to school together.  She owed him a couple favors.  And he’d needed a job.

And speaking of him, there he was, running across the park with a frantic look on his face.

“Hiyori- _chan_ , we need to get out of here!”  he shouted.  “This isn’t the first loop!”

“Loop?” she asked, confused.  “What the heck are you—”

“Look, I think we’re in some sorta time-loop,” Hibiya said, his tone urgent.  “I dreamed this last night and—”

“What’s the problem?” Hiyori interrupted.  “If we’re in a loop, we need to investigate it.  Why can’t we start here?”

“I—you—” he broke off. “We need to go,” he said firmly, grabbing her hand and dragging her off of the jungle gym she’d found herself on when this started.

She followed him, teetering on her high heels.  “Hibiya _-san_ , slow down, what are you—”

 She stopped, midsentence, as someone started screaming.

Hibiya swore.  “Not again!”

Hiyori surveyed the crowd forming nearby. Some of them were yelling, while others pointed upward.  She followed their gazes up and saw falling poles.

There was a brief spike of pain in her gut before black swept over everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Hiyori is kind of a great hardboiled detective, isn’t she? Everyone is aged up in this AU along with her, so the older members of the Mekakushi-dan are in their mid to late twenties.


	5. Organized Crime AU | Maybe today I might be able to meet you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But—a gang!” the boy sputtered. “You’re a singer, you have a promising career—and you want to throw it all away so you can get killed on the streets somewhere?”

Organized Crime AU

_Maybe today I might be able to meet you_

Mary drew back, surprised, as the skinny boy started shouting.

“What do you mean, you joined a gang?” 

She didn’t blame him for being upset—but she’d thought he would be screaming about being tied to a bedframe rather than about his sister joining up.

“Why should you care?” Momo snapped.  “You’re the one who’s been hiding in his room for two years now!”

“But—a gang!” the boy sputtered.  “You’re a singer, you have a promising career—and you want to throw it all away so you can get killed on the streets somewhere?”

“Are you saying you don’t think we can take care of her?” Kido asked, voice low and threatening.

“N-not at all!  It’s just—” he broke off.  “She’s my little sister.  I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Believe it or not, this gang is the best chance that she—that either of you—have of staying alive,” Kido said flatly.  “Ever since our founding commander died, the violence around this town has been getting worse and worse.  The terrorists at the mall were probably brought here by one of the older gangs.”

“It’s not like we’re looking to get more territory,” Seto put in, smiling gently. “We’re just trying to keep this small area safe.”

Mary finally found her voice.  “It’s like a family,” she said.

“What?” the boy repeated, confused.

“The Mekakushi-dan,”she said.  “It’s like a family.  We keep each other safe.”

“Weirdest gang ever,” the boy muttered.

“Don’t underestimate us,” Kido said.  She gestured toward Mary.  “She knows pressure points.  She’ll have you frozen in place if you even look at her the wrong way.  Kano is a world-class con-man.  Seto’s good enough at reading opponents in a fight that no one can take him hand to hand.”

“And you?” the boy asked.

Kido slipped a gun out of her sweatshirt and offered him a knife-sharp grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say about this one, except that it’s also a mudane/no powers AU. So, it's up to you how you treat the Yuukei Quartet’s dead-but-not-dead members if you decide to adopt and expand on it.


	6. Heian-Period Historical AU | That day was ever-so-peaceful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you recall hearing of a young lady who, in disguise, won a number of archery contests across Nihon?” Takane asked.

Heian-Period Historical AU

_That day was ever-so-peaceful_

The shrine was festooned with banners, and the pounding of drums and stamping of dancer’s feet filled the air.  All the town’s food-sellers were out, and the priests and _miko_ were scattered across the grounds, overseeing both religious ceremonies and entertainments.

Any visitors to the fair should have thought it strange that a hastily-constructed archery range was outstripping nearly every other contest set up in that field.  And yet, that was exactly what was occurring.  Rather than the priests, the young daughter of a neighboring lord, Takane, and the heir to these lands, Haruka, were the ones responsible for this contest, which proposed to pit the lady against any challenger willing to pay for the privilege.

Normally, a noblewoman would not be allowed out of her father’s house, much less to leave his territory.  However, Takane was hardly a normal noblewoman.  The maids who had raised her had been singularly independent-minded.  Additionally, they were not opposed to lending her a peasant’s clothing in order to allow her to have a bit of fun, with her parents none the wiser.

Loose, simple robes and a cone-shaped hat that shaded her drawn-on eyebrows kept her identity safe—especially when coupled with the fact that her status meant that few in these lands had ever been allowed to gaze on her face when she was not in disguise.

She had been even luckier in finding Haruka _-dono_ , the young son of the local lord, who seemed to find her eccentricities appealing rather than horribly vulgar.  Any other young noble would have instantly rejected a noblewoman so loose as her—one who dared stand in the presence of a man and even occasionally allowed her hands to emerge from her sleeves.  Yet when Haruka discovered her subterfuge, he was merely amused by it, rather than horrified, as she had expected.

“Takane _-shikibu_ , why have all these people come?” Haruka asked, surveying the gathering crowd.

Takane fought to keep her face expressionless, as was proper for a noble lady.  “It may be that my reputation precedes me.”

“Your reputation?” Haruka ventured.

“Do you recall hearing of a young lady who, in disguise, won a number of archery contests across _Nihon_?” Takane asked.

“I’m not quite sure,” Haruka said.  “I may have been bedridden at the time.”

“So you may have been,” Takane acknowledged, grimacing inwardly.  She did not like to think on her companion’s weak heart, which neither doctors nor priests had yet found the power to remedy.

Steeling herself, she added, “It does not change the fact that there was such a young woman.  Nor the fact that she was I.”

“You?” Haruka echoed, stepping back, as Takane threw a tattered banner over her shoulders like a cloak and faced the challengers.

“If you truly think yourself worthy to challenge the legendary Ene, come forth!” she shouted, as the crowd surged forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This AU is historically accurate aside from Takane’s horribly socially unacceptable behavior. If you want to expand it and need more information, message me and I can set you up with some resources.


	7. Magic School AU | This world seems a little bit dangerous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before him, Haruka saw a monstrous snake, red-eyed and onyx-scaled, vaguely translucent against the white wall behind it.

**Magic School AU**

_This world seems a little bit dangerous_

Haruka was vaguely aware of the taste of bitter hemlock laying thick on his tongue in the few seconds before the darkness swallowed him whole.

He did not understand.  What use was there in poisoning a student wizard, especially one as sickly as he was?  It was well known that the illness he had, which attacked the heart and the magic of those who had it with all the ferocity of a curse, was rarely survived.  If someone truly did want him dead, would it not have been easier to simply wait for the illness to take its course?

His classmate, Takane, would be terribly angry with whoever had done this.  He did not envy that person, whoever it was.  Though she wasn’t a terribly studious witch, Takane had a frightening talent for hexes.

The next thing he was aware of was a sensation of weightlessness.  He opened his eyes and found himself translucent, hovering above his own inert body.

Before him, he saw a monstrous snake, red-eyed and onyx-scaled, vaguely translucent against the white wall behind it.

He extended his hands in a warding gesture without thinking.  Whatever this spirit was, it was certainly powerful, and he could hardly afford to let his guard down in its presence.

“Peace, child,” the snake said.  “I come here not to harm you, but to grant you a wish.”

“A wish?” Haruka repeated, suspicious. Kenjirou- _sensei_ had warned him that spirits such as this one often had their own agenda in offering to grant wishes. “And its price?”

“There is no price,” the snake said.  “Simply the act of granting the wish will be my reward.”

That…still sounded suspect, but Haruka was not in a particularly good position for bargaining.

“And it can be anything?” he asked.

The snake inclined its head.  “Few things are outside of my power to grant.”

“Then my wish is to be restored to life,” Haruka said levelly, arm extended in a gesture of command.  “And to live that life in a strong body, one that is healthy.”

“If this is truly what you desire, I will grant it to you,” the snake said.  Its lips stretched into something that could very nearly be called a smile.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This magic school isn't actually supposed to be Hogwarts, but you could turn it into a Hogwarts AU if you wanted. Takane and Haruka are still in a special class, and Kenjirou specializes in alchemy and magical history.


	8. Spy AU | Those shadows were watching this kind of me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayano winced as the grainy image of Shintarou displayed on the monitor fell to his knees, hard, and clutched his head.

**Spy AU**

_Those shadows were watching this kind of me_  

Ayano re-crossed her legs in her stiff leather chair and continued to stare at the monitor, its light reflecting green on the skin of her face.  Thousands of hours of waiting and watching, alone, in this safe house, were about to come to fruition.

There, on the screen, Shintarou approached the photo on the shelf in Mary’s bedroom.  His eyes were widening in surprise, his hand trembling as he reached out to touch it…

Ayano winced as he fell to his knees, hard, clutching his head.

They’d both known it would be hard on him, being the sleeper agent.  But two years ago, when the Snake terrorist cell’s actions had finally forced her into hiding, the two of them had met with their best agent, a former Snake named Mary, and decided that having an ace in the hole was the Mekakushi Organization’s only chance of success.

And so she’d watched, as he tortured himself with guilt over her faked death, as he lost contact with everyone and became a person she barely recognized.  And she let it happen, because it was the only way to keep safe the younger siblings who only knew about a fraction of the danger they were in.  They needed someone else who remembered all the tactical forecasts, all the ways this could go wrong and the one way to get it right—and, more importantly, they needed someone who knew  where she was and how to get to it, but who wouldn’t remember until the right moment.  They needed someone that the Snakes would never even notice.

At first, she had considered Kano—but he was still so young, and entirely too close to the situation. Besides, he was very good at keeping secrets, and the Snakes knew it.  He would have been the first one they tried to compromise—and, indeed, he had been approached, and was even now acting as a double agent in hopes of preventing the enemy from seeing the organization formed to oppose them as a threat.  He had placed himself well, and Ayano was both proud of him, and utterly heartbroken at the thought of what her brother must be putting himself through.

Mary had been another option, but she was more useful as an activated agent.  Mary’s part seemed to be the easiest one in the plan, but  in reality she had the challenge of secretly leading the movements of the Mekakushi Organization, guiding them toward the recruits they would need while steering them away from the secrets they weren’t ready to know.  A difficult task, but one she’d performed admirably thus far.

No, Shintarou had been their best option.  And now, Shintarou had found the trigger they’d set to unlock the memories he’d forced himself to repress.  It was the picture that Mary had hidden in her own room, in the deepest part of the Mekakushi Organization’s headquarters, where Shintarou would not go until he was thoroughly involved in and trusted by that group.  It could have been any picture, really, but Ayano had chosen one of herself and her siblings in a move of pure sentimentality. Even now, she was occasionally prone to them.

Now, things would start moving quickly.  She would need to be prepared.

Ah, it had been so long since she’d been able to do field work…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Mekakushi Organization is a spy organization, and Ayano is the shadow head of it, controlling all of its movements through her agent Mary. Because I love both Ayano and spy narratives, this might be my favorite chapter.


	9. Dickensian AU | Tomorrow, you'll come to love it too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Miss Anna concluded her inspection, then smiled widely at the three of them.

**Dickensian AU**

_Tomorrow, you'll come to love it too_

“Anna, you’re a big sister now, so take good care of everyone, would you?”  the lady scientist said kindly, her hand resting on the back of the dark-haired girl.

Dark-eyed, they were, and both pale as white marble.  Not that awful ash-white that the factory girls turned after two or three years at the looms, but a healthy-looking pale, with roses in their cheeks.

The girl looked the three of them over.  Schuyler felt her eyes rest on him, taking in his scruffy, pale hair and the catlike slant of his yellow eyes, the ones that had the others from the orphanage calling him “witch-boy.”  The dirty scraps of cloth he was trying to pass off as clothing probably didn’t help him look any more respectable.

Poor Tansy wasn’t any better off.  Her shift had once been a froth of white lace, but now it was stained and ripped.  Her mossy-green hair was dull with soot, and there was still a brownish-green bruise on her cheek from the last time an older boy had tripped over her and then taken offense at her existence.

Conrad, of course, looked fine—even with his face streaked with dirt and his clothes in shreds, those big ol’ brown eyes of his shone bright and puppy-like, and his dirtied black hair seemed pathetic rather than repulsive.  If it weren’t for the fact that he was all but mute, some nice couple would’ve whisked him off years back.

Little Miss Anna concluded her inspection, then smiled widely at the three of them.  

“You look as though your lives up to this point have been difficult,” she said.  “But now that you’re living here, with me and Mother and Father, you won’t have to worry anymore.”

 _Silly naïve know-nothing rich girl_ , Schuyler thought.  _But I’d sure like it if she were right._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn’t realize this yourself, this AU is just set in the time and setting of Dicken’s books. I didn’t try to write like Dickens—he’s really wordy, and it’s easy to do incorrectly. The altered-for-location/time-period names are meant to correspond to the meanings and sounds of the original names, or, failing that, to the personalities of the characters carrying them. 
> 
> Ayano, meaning “from color” was renamed Anna, which means “grace”—not the same meaning, but certainly fitting for Ayano. (More in the “forgiveness” sense than in the “moves gracefully” sense, but stil… ) Shuuya, whose name contains a kanji meaning “study” or “discipline”, is Schuyler, meaning “scholar”. Tsubomi, meaning “flower bud” is Tansy, a type of flower. Kousuke’s name means “blessed help,” but I couldn’t find a direct English equivalent, so I called him “Conrad,” “brave counsel,” as a reference to his song, Shounen Brave.


	10. Gothic Novel AU | Because I'm waiting here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He pulled his cloak around him even more tightly and pressed on, even as the rain soaked through his clothing.

**_Gothic Novel AU_ **

_Because I'm waiting here_

_I’m alone.  Please come find me!_

There it came again, that soft, melancholy call, the one he couldn’t bear to ignore.

The shadows of the forest beckoned to him, the winds moaning in his ear.  He pulled his cloak around him even more tightly and pressed on, even as the rain soaked through his clothing.

There it was, a solitary dark tower looming above the churning waters.  Vines slipped in and out of the masonry, which had become almost black and slick with rain.   A lone bridge swayed in the wind, connecting the lonely isle to the mainland.  And, in the highest window—a fair-haired beauty clothed in blue.

Kousuke broke into a run, his heart pounding in his chest.  This was the source of the voice that had called him into these woods; the same one that had breathed new life into an existence that, only recently, had consisted of nothing more than grief and sorrow.

He reached the island, the wet grass slick beneath his boots.

The maiden’s eyes—the pale pink of apple blossoms—lighted on him, and grew wide.  In her shock, she fell from her perch on the windowsill.

“No—don’t come—turn to stone!” she cried, half of her words stolen by the pounding rain and shrieking wind.

He didn’t understand her words, but it made no difference.  Certainly, fate had brought her to this woman, whoever she might be.  He ran through the tower’s doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly crack-ish little AU meant to sound like a Gothic romance novel, and not a particularly good one, either. Probably, written in long form, it would *definitely* be crack.
> 
> I would like to point out that the chapter summary could be used to describe some scene from just about every Gothic novel. This amuses me.


	11. Sci-Fi AU | I believe in you because you're you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kisaragi Momo wasn't sure what an idol singer with a boosted S.N.A.K.E. implant could really do in this situation, but she was determined to come up with something. The captain and the flaky civilian kid were depending on her.

**Eleven: Sci-fi AU**

**_I believe in you because you’re you_ **

Kisaragi Momo’s hand hovered less than an inch from the wall of translucent blue energy that trapped her and her comrades in their cell.

“Who are these people?” she asked softly.

“They’re wearing the same uniforms as those Daze faction nutjobs that captured Hiyori and me!” the civilian boy answered.

She glanced back at him, sympathetic.  A few days ago, the war had just been something he heard on the news.  But now he’d fought his way out of a Daze prison with help from an unregistered military robot, one of their experimental Subdermal Neurology-Altering Kinetogenic Element implants still his body.  If he wanted to survive, he’d have to join the Blindfold forces.  But he clearly wasn’t ready to accept that.

“Well, whoever they are, they don’t want anyone to know they have us,” Captain Kido said.  “They took our communicators.”

The civilian— _Hibiya_ , Momo remembered— cursed and slammed a fist into the wall.  “I don’t have time for this!  I need to go get Hiyori _-chan_ back!”

Momo understood his frustration.  She had things to attend to as well—namely a piloting-program dropout brother who was still alone in HQ with a half-alien girl she barely knew

Mary seemed nice, true, but this was the first time Shintarou had left his quarters in two years and Momo wouldn’t forgive Mary if she gave him reason to return to them.  Not that a simple idol singer with a boosted S.N.A.K.E. implant could really stand up to a girl with a better implant and alien genetics.

But…maybe there was something that an idol singer with the ability to hack into other people’s attention could do in this situation.

“Captain, do you know the effective range of your implant?” she asked, turning to face the C.O. of the ship she’d been travelling aboard since she joined the Blindfold forces.

“…I’m not certain,” Captain Kido replied.  “But it works better on defined ranges like buildings or ships.”

“Then, could you use your S.N.A.K.E. on everyone in this building?” Momo asked.

Captain Kido grinned.  “I see what you’re planning,” she said.

Momo smiled back and waited for the Captain to give her the signal, as Hibiya looked on in confusion.

She glanced back at Hibiya.  He was a bit too young for her, and scruffy to boot, but there was something attractive about those intensely narrowed eyes of his.

“I’ll get us out of here and cheer you up, all at once,” she declared, turning to grin at him.

She closed her eyes, and the music filled her mind as she started to sing.

“’ _Mo dou yattatte demo muda kamo na,’ nakisou na kao miteta…_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based rather heavily on giant robot sci-fi anime in particular, this is one of the first AUs I thought of. The medusas are aliens, Shintarou was in a giant-robot piloting training program with Ayano until she died and he dropped out, and Hibiya stole Konoha from the enemy when he escaped from them. Momo is the obligatory singer/politician, naturally.


	12. Genderflipped AU | I don't remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a vague, drowsy, way, Tateyama Kenko wished that she would remember this dream, if only to hold on to the memory of seeing her students and her children, all together, talking and arguing like old friends.

**Genderflipped AU**

_I don’t remember_

Tateyama Kenko dreamed.

She dreamed of people he hadn’t seen in waking hours for years, and people she’d never even seen before.  She was quite certain she’d remember having seen the scraggly-haired girl in sandals or the albino boy in Victorian-style clothing.  And then there was the white-haired girl, the one she never saw outside of dreams but associated with her former student Haruka for reasons she could never explain.

Usually, she didn’t remember the dreams.  Probably, she wouldn’t remember this one either, whenever she woke.  In a vague, drowsy, way, she wished that she would, if only to hold on to the memory of seeing her students and her children, all together, talking and arguing like old friends.

She could see them, on multiple TVs, running through an endless corridor that was vaguely familiar-looking.

“Aren’t you gonna talk to her?” Kisaragi Motoki asked, blinking his large blue eyes at Enomoto Takashi.  “I mean, she’s the girl you fell for, isn’t she?”

Takashi shook his head.  “She’s gotta be connected to Haruka, but she doesn’t act like her at all.  I don’t even think she remembers me.”

“But, shouldn’t you at least try?” Motoki pressed.  “C’mon, Eshi—Takashi _-kun_ —what do I call you now?”

“Eshi’s fine,” Takashi said, rolling his eyes.  “And, _no._ ”

“You’re sure this is the way, right?” Kido Tsubasa asked, glaring at Kano Shuuko.

Kano held up her hands, trying to look innocent.  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Kido snorted, then said, “You’re still cleaning the bathroom for a month.”

“Is this gonna help us find Hiro?” the unfamiliar girl asked, looking up at Kano.

“Uh, about that—” Kano said, sounding unsure.

“I’m really more worried about what the thing inside Tatemaya- _sensei_ ’s trying to do,” Takashi interrupted.  “You did say he wanted to unite all the snakes, right?”

“Yeah,” Kano said.

“And if he manages it, we’re all gonna die,” Kido said.  “Because the snakes are what’s keeping us alive.”

“If that’s the case—I guess it’s me who’s the prince you were talking about,” the white-haired boy mused.  He looked down at Seto Kotone.

“I wouldn’t worry about that too much,” Seto said reassuringly.

At that, the voice, the one that always spoke during her dreams, started talking about ‘repeating’ and ‘tragedy’ and all sorts of other things that Kenko didn’t really understand.  It sounded like her own voice, but it was dark and angry and she really didn’t feel like it was coming from her.

But sometimes, it spoke to her.  It made her promises.  It swore to fulfill her one and only wish, to bring her beloved Ayumu back to her.

So, even if it sounded kind of crazy, she didn’t want to interfere. Whatever it could do, whatever it _did_ do, was fine by her, as long as she was allowed to be together with Ayumu again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Altered names for the genderswapped AU:
> 
> Tateyama Kenjirou to Tateyama Kenko [楯山研次朗 to 楯山研子] (I literally just added a female ending to the first kanji of his name, which means “study”)
> 
> Tatemaya Ayaka to Tateyama Ayumu [ 楯山絢 to 香楯山歩夢] (Ayumu can be read as “walks in dreams”)
> 
> Tateyama Ayano to Tateyama Akio [楯山文乃 to 楯山昭雄] (even though Ayumu is closer to Ayano in terms of the way it sounds, one of the kanji in Akio can mean“hero”)
> 
> Kisaragi Shintarou to Kisaragi Shinju [如月 伸太郎 to 如月 真珠] (purely phonetic; the female name means “pearl”)
> 
> Kisaragi Momo to Kisaragi Motoki [如月桃 to 如月本木] (another one that was just phonetic; Momo means “peach” and Motoki means “tree roots”)
> 
> Kido Tsubomi to Kido Tsubasa [木戸 つぼみ to 木戸つばさ] (this word means “wings” but isn’t written in kanji, since Kido’s canonical name isn’t, either.) 
> 
> Kano Shuuya to Kano Shuuko[鹿野 修哉 to 鹿野修子] (again, just Kano’s canon name with a “ko” at the end to make it female —the “shu” in it means “study,” just like Kenjirou’s “ken.”)
> 
> Seto Kousuke to Seto Kotone [瀬戸 幸助 to 瀬戸琴音](A completely different meaning but a similar sound—Kousuke means “blessed help,” Kotone means “the sound of a koto, [a specific type of stringed instrument]”)
> 
> Enomoto Takane to Enomoto Takashi (Eshi) [榎本 貴音 to 榎本隆(エシ)] (the meanings are very different, again, but the fact that the first syllable sounds exactly the same makes me pretty happy.)
> 
> Kokonose Haruka[ 九ノ瀬 遥] (Haruka is a unisex name meaning “distant”)
> 
> Kozakura Mary to Kozakura Marion (I picked a fairly close-sounding English name for Mary)
> 
> Asahina Hiyori to Asahina Hiro [朝比奈 日和 to 朝比奈寛 ](You can spell the name “Hiro” with a few different kanji; I chose the one that means “ tolerant or generous” because I thought it would be ironic.)
> 
> Amamiya Hibiya to Amamiya Hitomi [雨宮 響也 to 雨宮瞳] (Hibiya’s female name sounds less similar to his original than the others; there’s a reason for that. Hitomi means “pupil of the eye” and I could not resist that pun.)
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there for thirteen chapters! I've enjoyed writing this fic; I hope you've enjoyed reading it.


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